Qualcomm: The Company Governments Love to Hate

The company’s dominant position in wireless means state-sponsored pressure is unlikely to ease

By
Dan Gallagher

Dec. 28, 2016 1:08 pm ET

There is scarcely a wireless device sold these days that doesn’t generate some revenue for Qualcomm Inc. But that dominant position comes with a price—in the form of a rather large bull's-eye.

Government regulators have targeted mobile technology as vital to their national interest. That means they have targeted Qualcomm, which owns many of the key patents underlying wireless networks and their associated devices. The company settled a major licensing dispute with the Chinese government last year, and is currently under scope...